May 23, 2018

Michael Cohen's business partner strikes plea deal

Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Michael Cohen's partner, Evgeny Freidman, has agreed to assist state and federal investigators as a witness in exchange for no jail time, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: This is more bad news for Cohen, and potentially for President Trump. As Axios' Jonathan Swan and Mike Allen reported, Cohen "is potentially more perilous to President Trump than anybody else." Per the Times, this plea deal could result in added pressure on Cohen to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller.

The details: Freidman, a Russian immigrant, was facing four criminal tax fraud charges and one grand larceny charge. He pled guilty on Tuesday to one count of evading $50,000 in taxes, and faces five years of probation if he holds up his end of the plea deal, the Times reports.

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Axios

Updated 5 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 12,118,667 — Total deaths: 551,271 — Total recoveries — 6,649,930 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 2 p.m. ET: 3,081,383 — Total deaths: 132,570 — Total recoveries: 953,420 — Total tested: 37,431,666 — Map.
Public health: Cases rise in 33 states — Florida reports highest single-day coronavirus death toll since pandemic began.
Science: World Health Organization acknowledges airborne transmission of coronavirus.
Travel: Young adults are most likely to have moved due to coronavirus.

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Felix Salmon

22 mins ago - World

China's extraterritorial threat

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

All multinational companies and executives need to worry about breaking U.S. law, no matter where they're based or doing business. Now, they need to worry about Chinese law, too.

Why it matters: The projection of U.S. norms and laws around the world has been an integral (and much resented) part of America's "soft power" since 1945. As China positions itself to replace the USA as global hegemon, expect it to become increasingly assertive along similar lines.

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Eileen Drage O'Reilly

53 mins ago - Health

Big Pharma launches $1B venture to incentivize new antibiotics

Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios

A group of large drug companies launched a $1 billion AMR Action Fund Thursday in collaboration with policymakers, philanthropists and development banks to push the development of two to four new antibiotics by 2030.

Why it matters: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing problem — possibly killing up to 20 million people annually by 2050 — but a severe lack of R&D market incentives has hampered efforts to develop a robust antibiotic pipeline to address the issue.